Trace of love
by mirdaishan
Summary: A new girl who joins Hodges in the Trace lab causes a lot of commotion at LVPD. Hodges isn't too happy about getting a partner, Morgan wonders if Greg is interested in this new girl and Greg... He's just still trying to figure out a way to tell Morgan how he feels. And then there's the new girl herself who turns out to have a secret of her own as well...
1. Chapter 1

**I got this idea from a friend of mine who thought it would be fun if Hodges had someone else working in the Trace lab with him. So, here it is... with a bit of Greg & Morgan added to it of course! Enjoy! :)**

"And here we are!"  
David Hodges looked up when he heard Conrad Ecklie's voice. The undersheriff stepped into the Trace lab accompanied by a young woman. Her brown hair was neatly tied up in a ponytail and she was wearing a blue lab coat.  
"Hodges, I'd like you to meet Miranda Rivers," Ecklie said, pointing to the young woman next to him. "Miranda, this is David Hodges, your… well, partner!"  
Smiling, Miranda held out her hand. "Nice to meet you!"  
Hodges ignored her and looked at Ecklie. "What did you say? My 'partner'?"  
"Yeah, didn't you get my email?" Ecklie looked from Miranda to Hodges and back with an unsure smile on his face. "Because Trace has been behind for weeks and weeks, I've hired Miranda to come and help you out in the lab. You'll be working together from now on."  
Next to Ecklie Miranda was still smiling. Again, Hodges ignored her and looked at Ecklie. "Why do I need a 'partner'? I'm perfectly capable of running the Trace lab on my own!"  
"Well, there have been some complaints…" Ecklie slowly put his hands in his pockets and looked around the Trace lab to avoid having to look directly at Hodges.  
"Complaints?" Hodges repeated. "Who complained about me? I never heard any complaints! But I have a complaint right now: I don't need anyone else here in the lab! Put her on the dayshift, on swing shift, wherever, but not with me! I work alone, I don't need help! And certainly not from someone who looks like she hasn't even finished school yet!"  
"Actually, I graduated nearly five years ago," Miranda said. Her friendly smile had disappeared, she now seemed angry. "While I was studying, I worked part time at the Trace lab of the San Francisco police department and after I graduated, I was offered a job working in the Trace lab of the FBI in Washington. So I have finished school and I have experience working in a Trace lab."  
Hodges refused to apologize for what he had said, he was still angry Ecklie hadn't told him about Miranda before.  
"Look, Hodges, I'm sorry you didn't get my email, but please try to make the best of it!" Ecklie sighed. "Okay?"  
"No, not okay!" Hodges said, nearly shouting. "This is my Trace lab, I don't need any help! This is ridiculous! If there were complaints, and I'm saying 'if', you should have come to me first instead of just hiring someone I don't need!"  
"Mind your words, Hodges, I'm still the undersheriff," Ecklie reminded him. Just at that point, Morgan walked into the Trace lab. She froze on the doorstep, her eyebrows raised. "What's going on?"  
Both Hodges and Ecklie remained silent. Miranda just stared at the floor.  
"Eh, Morgan, this is Miranda Rivers," Ecklie finally said. "Miranda, this is Morgan Brody."  
The two women shook hands with a friendly smile.  
"I'm guessing you don't work in the lab," Miranda said with a quick look at Hodges. Morgan smiled. "That's correct, I'm one of the CSI's. And I'm also his daughter," she added, nodding with her head towards Ecklie. "But that still doesn't answer my question. What's going on?"  
"Miranda is going to be working together with Hodges in the Trace lab from now on," Ecklie explained. Hodges rolled his eyes, which made Morgan immediately understand the situation. "And Hodges isn't too happy about that… Come on, Hodges, it'll be fun having someone to work with! I always prefer working together with someone over working alone."  
Hodges crossed his arms to show her how he felt. Morgan shook her head. "Forget what I said then. Do you have the results on my blue fiber?"  
"Oh, eh… not yet…" Hodges turned around, looking with his eyes for the blue fiber.  
"This is exactly what I mean," Ecklie said. "Miranda is working here, Hodges, and there shall be no more complaints, understood? Good luck, Miranda, and if there's anything you need, just let me know, okay?"  
"Thank you," Miranda smiled. She then turned to Morgan. "Would you like me to run that blue fiber for you?"  
"Oh, sure," Morgan nodded. She and Hodges both watched Miranda while she washed her hands, put on gloves and started working on the blue fiber. With everything she did, Hodges felt his annoyance growing. She was working perfectly! She worked quickly, but didn't miss anything and was careful as well. Faster than he had ever managed, she had the results.  
"Thanks!" Morgan said as she took the paper from Miranda. "I don't think I ever got my result this fast!"  
"I try my best," Miranda said with a small smile. Hodges rolled his eyes. Why was she acting all modest suddenly? She obviously knew perfectly well she was working fast, why say she was 'trying'? He turned his back towards her and returned to his work. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
"Be nice to her," Morgan softly whispered in his ear. She petted him on his shoulder before leaving the lab. Hodges looked at Miranda, who had started on the next piece of evidence that needed to be analyzed. He shook his head. She was doing just fine without him, she really didn't need him to be nice to her!

With the paper Miranda had given her in her hand, Morgan walked to the layout room, where Greg was looking at a map of Las Vegas.  
"Hey," she said. "I got the results on the blue fiber!"  
"Finally!" Greg sighed. "Hodges really took his time on this one!"  
"Actually, Hodges didn't even analyze it," Morgan told him. "There's a new girl with him in the Trace lab, she analyzed it for us."  
"New girl, huh? I bet Hodges loves her already!" Greg grinned. Morgan shook his head. "Not at all, I think he prefers to work alone."  
"But still… a new _girl_, Hodges should like that," Greg said, taking the paper with the results from Morgan. "Or is she so bad looking?"  
Morgan raised his eyebrows. "Why do you care what she looks like?"  
Greg shrugged his shoulders. "Why not?"  
Morgan crossed her arms. "No matter what I say, you're still going to want to see her. If I say she looks really cute, you'll want to see her just because I say she's cute and if I say she looks anything but cute, you'll want to her to see if I'm right. So, why is it important what she looks like if you're gonna wanna see her anyway?"  
She couldn't help sounding slightly annoyed. Since when was Greg interested in other girls? She had always thought he was only interested in her!  
"Can we just talk about the results?" Greg changed the subject. He hadn't missed the annoyance in Morgan's voice and the last thing he wanted to do, was start a fight with her.  
"Whatever," Morgan decided. She hated feeling so jealous all of a sudden. Greg hadn't even said he wanted to work with Miranda, he had just said Hodges would like working with a cute looking girl. Yet she couldn't get herself to apologize for her small outburst. She grabbed the paper with results, planning to take another look at her. When she grabbed the paper, Greg however did the exact same thing and as she looked up, their faces were only inches apart. She could feel his breath softly against her cheek. Inside, it felt like her heart stopped beating. Unwillingly she pulled back. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Greg's face had turned bright red.  
"Well, eh, the blue fiber," she started. "Miranda analyzed it and it was…"  
While she talked, she avoided looking at Greg directly. First their argument about Miranda, if you could already call it an argument, and then the moment that had just happened. It was definitely not an uneventful shift!

At the end of shift Greg gathered his things from his locker. He was still thinking about what had happened between him and Morgan earlier. First of course that she had sounded so annoyed when he had asked about the new Trace girl and then that they had almost kissed. What if she hadn't pulled back? Would he have had the nerve to actually kiss her? No, he realized. He would never ever work up the courage to actually tell her how he felt… That thought hurt him so much he had to fight back tears. Just at that moment, a young woman he didn't know walked into the locker room.  
"Hi," she said with a smile. "We haven't met yet, have we? I'm Miranda Rivers, I'm new here."  
"Greg Sanders," he introduced himself, hardly hearing what she said. "If you'll excuse me now, I really have to go."  
He grabbed his car keys and left the locker room, not noticing Miranda followed him with her eyes. Why was he such a chicken? He just had to tell Morgan how he felt, he just had to! But how?


	2. Chapter 2

When Hodges walked into the Trace lab that evening, he immediately noticed Miranda wasn't there yet. They had managed to get through the rest of their first shift together with arguing, but that was all. Everything about her annoyed him. He wasn't the person who quickly disliked people, but Miranda was different. Or was it just because Ecklie hadn't told him about her? He was still wondering if there really had been complaints about his work speed. If there were, who would have complained about him? Morgan? No, definitely not. Sara? No, she wouldn't go to Ecklie to complain, she would just tell him to hurry up, just like Nick. Finn then? No, neither. That left Russell and Greg. Maybe Russell had said something to Ecklie and Ecklie had thought of it as a complaint. And Greg? Would Greg be the one who could have complained about him? Hodges knew how much Greg liked Morgan and that he hadn't been too happy about the fake dating he and Morgan had done. Would this be his revenge? The more Hodges thought about it, the more he was convinced Greg was the one who had gone to Ecklie. So when the CSI came in with something that had to be analyzed, he just told him to put it down and he would look at it when he had the time.  
"I can look at it for you right now."  
Hodges groaned when he heard Miranda's voice. The young woman walked calmly into the Trace lab, her blue coat already on.  
"Aren't you a little late?" Hodges said, pretending he was very busy with something.  
"Actually I'm right on time," Miranda replied, pointing at the clock. When Hodges looked up at the clock, he saw it was exactly eleven o'clock, to the second. He held back a sarcastic comment and just turned his back to his so-called new partner.  
"What can I do for you?" Miranda said, looking at Greg. He smiled at her. "You must be the new girl… Morgan told me about you."  
"We met after shift this morning in the locker room, remember?" Miranda grinned.  
"This morning?" Greg repeated. He suddenly remembered thinking about what had nearly happened between him and Morgan and nothing else. "Oh, yeah, well… eh…"  
"Let me introduce myself again then!" Miranda said with a big smile. "Miranda Rivers."  
"Greg Sanders."  
After they had shook hands, Miranda put on gloves and took the piece of evidence from him. While she started analyzing it, she asked: "Have you been working here for a long time already?"  
"Actually, I have," Greg confessed. "Nearly fifteen years, I guess… I started in the DNA lab, but now I've been a CSI for about eight years already again."  
Miranda softly whistled. "Wow! Pretty impressive!"  
"What about you?" Greg asked. Miranda continued to work while she told him about her work in San Francisco and Washington. Greg grinned. "And then you think what I did is impressive? You worked for the FBI!"  
"It's not as impressive as you think," Miranda said with a smile. She handed him a print out. "Your results!"  
"Thanks," Greg smiled. "If I have anything else to analyze, I know where to find you!"  
"I'll be here!" Miranda answered with a smile. As soon as Greg had left the lab, Hodges turned around. "You worked for the FBI and then you come to Las Vegas to work for LVPD. Why give up working for the FBI? And don't give me that 'It's not as impressive as you think'."  
He tried copying her voice when he said that last bit because her fake modesty annoyed him. Again…  
"I have my reasons," Miranda replied coldly. She turned her back towards him and continued to work.  
"Yeah, to flirt with a Vegas CSI!" Hodges said, shaking his head. Miranda turned around to look at him, her eyebrows frowned together. "Flirting? I wasn't flirting with Greg, I was just trying to be nice! But of course you don't know anything about being nice, do you?"  
"Oh, I can be nice… to other nice people!" Hodges snapped at her. "If you ask me, you should have stayed in Washington and everyone would have been happy!"  
Angrily, Miranda turned her back towards him again. This prevented Hodges from seeing the tears that had started to run down her face after his last words.

"I met Miranda."  
Morgan looked up from her computer when Greg walked in. He handed her the paper with the results she had given him. "Did you know she used to work for the FBI in Washington?"  
"Really?" Morgan took the paper from him and quickly looked at it. "Why did she come to Vegas then? The FBI seems more exciting to me than the night shift of the LVPD!"  
"Hey, you left LA to join our team, remember?" Greg reminded her.  
"LAPD was more boring than boring," Morgan told him. "Plus, the people on this team are a lot nicer than the people back in LA. That's why I decided to come here when I had to leave LA."  
"But Miranda didn't know any of us yet," Greg contradicted her. "So that doesn't count!"  
"Maybe she was born in Las Vegas and she missed this city," Morgan suggested. "Look, I don't really care why she came here, but I'm glad she did, because we never got our results as fast as now! Or did Hodges analyze this for you?"  
"He seemed almost angry with me," Greg suddenly remembered. "I just don't understand why… I can't remember doing anything wrong…"  
"Well, you and Hodges…" Morgan tried to sound carefully, but Greg immediately understood what she meant. "I know, Hodges and I are like water and fire! But lately things seemed to be better, don't you agree?"  
Morgan slowly nodded. She couldn't remember Hodges and Greg having any arguments or discussions lately.  
"Then he's probably still in a bad mood because he has a partner," she decided. "Can we get back to work now? I think catching a murderer is more important than why Hodges seemed angry with you!"

Thanks to the Trace results, Morgan managed to figure out who the killer was they were looking for and it only took Brass five minutes to get a confession out of him. Happily, she returned to her office, planning to eat her lunch first and then finish the report. Unless Greg had already done so of course… Unfortunately for her, he had already started his lunch break.  
"You know, you could have started on the report already," she told him.  
"You can too," was his answer. She smiled while opening the fridge. "Alright, you have it your way! Wanna work on it together after we both had lunch?"  
"Deal," he nodded. "What have you got today?"  
"I made pasta," she said as she took the box from the fridge. "Oh, I left the box with my salad in my car. Watch this box and make sure no one eats it! That includes you, mister Sanders!"  
"Why would I want to eat pasta when I've got a delicious burger here?" he said with a smile. Grinning, she left the break room and went back to her car. After she had gotten the forgotten box, she walked back to the entrance of LVPD. Just as she wanted to enter, she noticed a woman leaning against a car. She could only see the woman's back, but it seemed like she was crying. Slowly, Morgan walked towards the woman. When she got closer, she saw it Miranda.  
"Hey, Miranda, are you okay?" She quickly walked over to the crying Trace girl and put an arm around her. Miranda started to wipe away her tears, but they continued to roll down her face.  
"What happened?" Morgan asked, a worried tone in her voice. Miranda shook her head. "Nothing, never mind. I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone!"  
She tried to get up, but Morgan grabbed her arm. She looked at the young woman. "I don't believe there's nothing wrong, then you wouldn't be crying. What happened?"  
"It's Hodges!" Miranda finally confessed. "I think he hates me! He thinks I only came to Las Vegas to flirt with Greg and that it would have been better if I had stayed in Washington!"  
"He said that?" Morgan couldn't hide the surprise in her voice. Miranda nodded. She tried again to wipe away her tears. "I told him I had my reasons to come to Vegas, but then he said that. How could I have come to Vegas to flirt with Greg? I never even met him before this morning! And I wasn't flirting with him!"  
"Well, he is really cute." Morgan had blurted it out before she could stop herself. Quickly, she bent her head.  
"He's nice, yes, and I guess he is quite cute, but I could never go out with him anyway, so why would I flirt with him?" Miranda said, not seeming to notice how uneasy Morgan suddenly felt. Morgan looked up. "What do you mean by 'you can never go out with him anyway'?"  
"Just… what I said," Miranda said, shrugging her shoulders. "Forget it, okay? I'm not interested in Greg in that way! Plus, doesn't he already have a girlfriend?"  
She looked at Morgan. It seemed innocent, but to Morgan it felt like Miranda was thinking she was Greg's girlfriend. Or did she just know Morgan wanted to be Greg's girlfriend? Stop it, Brody, you're just driving yourself crazy, she told herself.  
"Greg or no Greg, Hodges had no right to say those things," Morgan changed the subject. "Want me to go and talk to him?"  
To her surprise, Miranda shook her head. "I'd rather you didn't. I'd feel awkward if I had anyone else get involved in this… I'll be fine, honestly. Right now, we're just not saying anything at all to each other, so he can't say anything mean anyway. I'll be fine, really."  
She walked away, leaving Morgan anything but convinced she was telling the truth.

Just before shift ended, Ecklie walked into the office Greg and Morgan shared with Sara. The brown-haired woman had just left with Nick, so he only found his daughter and Greg. He couldn't help but smile when he saw them working together. He knew co-workers weren't supposed to be dating, but the two of them just looked so cute together! He had never talked to Morgan about how she felt towards Greg, but he had a feeling she definitely liked him as much as he liked her. He almost hated having to interrupt them. Carefully, he cleared his throat. "Morgan?"  
"Yeah?" She turned around, a pen still in her hand.  
"Would you like to grab a bite to eat after a shift?" he asked. "I've got something to tell you."  
"Oh, no… Please tell me you and Mrs. Hodges aren't getting married!" she said, her eyes big with fear. Ecklie smiled. "No, we're not getting married and we're not moving in together, don't worry! But in a way, it is about her…"  
Morgan raised her eyebrows. "Okay… Well, sure, we'll grab something to eat. I'm really curious right now, to be honest! I guess I can't get you to finish up here, right, Greg?"  
"Nice try!" he smiled. "You're not going anywhere for another ten minutes, Hollywood!"  
"You're only saying that because the undersheriff is here," Morgan grumbled. Ecklie grinned. "I'm sure that's not the only reason! I'll meet you outside, okay, M?"  
"Sure," she nodded, suddenly wondering what her father meant. She could think of another reason why Greg didn't want her to leave just yet, but would her father know that reason? Greg's red face told her the reason she had in mind was right. Luckily, her father had already left before he could see how red Greg had turned.  
"I wonder what he wants to talk to you about," he tried to change the subject. "In a way it's about Mrs. Hodges…"  
"Maybe he just wants advice on what to get her for her birthday," Morgan suggested. She shrugged her shoulders. "I'll find out when you let me go, okay? Can you really not finish up by yourself? It's just a matter of printing everything, putting it in the file and taking it to Russell!"  
Greg grabbed her hand, put it on the mouse of the computer and moved it around so that she told the computer to print the files. "There, your work is done, okay? I'll take it to Russell, but I'll remember this, don't forget that!"  
"I won't," she smiled. "Thanks, Greg!"  
She noticed he was still holding her hand. It felt good, like this was meant to be. She couldn't get herself to pull her hand back. Suddenly she decided she had to make a move. She smiled again. "I'll pay you back, I promise, but thanks for now!"  
She bent forward and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "See you tonight!"  
She rushed out of the office, feeling her own cheeks starting to turn bright red. Her heart was beating completely out of control and it felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. Why couldn't she just tell him how she felt? Don't think about it now, you're going out for breakfast with your Dad, she reminded herself. She gathered her things and quickly went outside to meet her father. He took her to a small restaurant not that far from LVPD and ordered coffee for both of them.  
"Okay, Dad, what did you want to tell me?" she asked, unable to hide her curiosity any longer. Ecklie smiled. "I wanted to tell you that I was thinking about calling your mother and telling her about Mrs. Hodges."  
"Oh." Morgan leaned back into her seat. "You hadn't done that yet?"  
"No, I haven't," her father confessed. "I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, that's why I first wanted to tell you."  
Morgan nodded. "No problem, Dad, I don't think she would mind at all. I mean, she got remarried, remember?"  
"It's just… Since the divorce I've never been in such a serious relationship as now," Ecklie slowly said. "I'm not sure how she'd feel about it…"  
"I'm sure she'll be very happy for you," Morgan reassured him. "I am?"  
Ecklie smiled. "Yeah, that's true… Alright, I'll call her later today and I'll tell her! Okay, so that's settled, now let's talk about you! Anything exciting happen during shift today?"  
"Well, actually…" After hesitating for another moment Morgan told him about Miranda and what Hodges had said to her. Ecklie shook his head. "I can't believe he's being so rude to her! I'll definitely talk to him tonight, I promise. And no, I won't tell him you said anything, okay?"  
"Thanks, Dad," Morgan smiled. She took another sip from her coffee and looked around the restaurant. Near the counter she noticed a young woman surrounded by three crying little kids. The young woman was pushing a pram while the three little kids jumped around and cried they wanted something else to eat.  
"At times like this I'm happy your mother and I stopped having kids after you," Ecklie said, noticing what she was looking at. Morgan smiled. "I think it would be nice having more kids… As long as they're not crying, of course!"  
She and Ecklie both laughed while the young woman at the counter turned around to stop one of the children from hitting another one. Immediately Morgan's laugh disappeared. The young woman was none other than Miranda.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the day Morgan kept thinking about Miranda and the little children. Were they her kids or was she just babysitting them? Morgan wasn't sure whether or not she was supposed to say anything to Miranda. Luckily, she and Greg were sent to a new crime scene and when they came back, they first had to go through a whole lot of fingerprints before they could do anything else.  
"Why don't you go to Trace, then I'll go to DNA," Morgan suggested after they had run the last fingerprint. Greg raised his eyebrows. "This doesn't have anything to do with me and Hodges, right?"  
"You and Hodges?" She had already forgotten that Greg had told her about Hodges seeming to be angry with him yesterday.  
"I guess that's a 'no'," Greg decided. He sat down, holding out his arm to stop her from leaving the room. "What's going on?"  
After a deep sigh Morgan told him about what she had seen at the restaurant.  
"She seemed so lost!" she said with a hurt expression on her face. "Like she didn't know what she was doing or something like that… I felt so sorry for her!"  
"You should go and talk to her about this," Greg softly said. Morgan opened her mouth to protest, but Greg shook his head. "You know I'm right, so don't argue with me here, young lady!"  
She couldn't help but smile at his 'young lady' comment. The rush of happiness that suddenly went through her body made her put her arms around him. "Alright, Sir, I'll do exactly as you say!"  
She saw he was fighting the urge to put his arms around her as well and quickly let him go. "You go talk to Hodges and I'll go and talk to Miranda, alright?"  
"Alright," he nodded. "Let's go!"  
Together, they walked over to the Trace lab. They both immediately noticed how quiet it was. Hodges and Miranda were both working, their backs towards each other.  
"Miranda?" Morgan broke the silence. The young woman looked up and managed a small smile. "Oh, hey, Morgan."  
"Do you have a minute? I wanna talk to you about something," Morgan said with a small smile as well.  
"Oh, sure…" Miranda started taking off her gloves.  
"Hodges, can you analyze this for me, please?" Greg asked. The Trace lab tech made a vague gesture towards a table. "Put it down."  
Greg waited for Miranda and Morgan to leave the lab before he blurted out: "Okay, I don't know what I did wrong or what kind of problem you have with me, but I just want to solve this case and I kinda need your help to do so. So either tell me what I did wrong or just analyze my evidence!"  
"I'll tell you what you did wrong: you think you can get revenge by going to Ecklie to complain about me!" Hodges shouted out angrily. "Don't you think it's a little childish? Just because I fake dated Morgan and you want to date her for real? Run to Ecklie and complain about Morgan's fake boyfriend!"  
"Greg didn't come to me to complain."  
Both men froze when they heard Ecklie's voice. Hodges, because he knew he had gone too far and Greg, because he was afraid what Ecklie would think about Hodges' words.  
"Actually Greg was one of the few who didn't come to me to complain," Ecklie continued, stepping into the Trace lab. "I received most complaints from the dayshift, who told me you always left stacks and stacks of evidence for them to process and that most of the evidence had already been in the lab for nearly a week! That's why I decided to hire someone to help you out. And when you talk about childish, don't you think you're being more than a little childish? Telling Miranda you wanted her to stay in Washington… In two days she has done more work than you have in an entire week!"  
Hodges tried to push himself to look at Ecklie, but he couldn't. He knew the undersheriff was right. Miranda was doing a great job and he had been horrible to her.  
"I…" he started, but Ecklie's look caused him to forget his words.  
"When she comes back, I expect you to apologize to her," Ecklie told him, crossing his arms with a strict look on his face. "And I do not wish to hear any more complaints about you, is that understood? Because if I do, you know what's going to happen…"  
"You'll fire me and you'll let Miranda stay," Hodges understood. He nodded. "I'll apologize to her. And to you too, Greg. I shouldn't have been so rude to you and I shouldn't have said those things. I hope you can forget about it."  
Greg nodded, still feeling unsure about what Ecklie would think about Hodges' words.  
"Alright, now that's all settled you can start processing Greg's evidence while I have a word with him," Ecklie said, which was like a confirmation for Greg of his worst fears. With a wild beating heart he followed the undersheriff back to his office. When Ecklie added: "Close the door, Sanders", he knew he was in trouble. What would Ecklie do to him? Fire him? Or make him change shifts?  
"I heard what Hodges said about you and my daughter," Ecklie started. Greg's heart started to beat even faster. This wasn't good…  
"To be honest, his words didn't surprise me," Ecklie continued. Greg frowned. What did Ecklie just say?  
"Look, Greg, I've known you for… well, I don't even know for how long exactly, but I know you're a good guy and I don't think it's a secret how much you like my daughter. Not even to her, I think, so that's why I'm telling you this…"  
Greg automatically closed his eyes, deadly afraid of what Ecklie would say next.  
"You have my permission to start dating."  
Surprised, Greg opened his eyes again. What? Was he dreaming or what?  
"I know you'll keep work and your personal life separated, so no one has to change shifts, unless of course your personal life is getting in the way of you doing your job properly," Ecklie said with a small nod. "I know you'll be good for her, Greg. I already see how happy she is whenever she's working together with you. Don't tell me you never noticed that!"  
"I… guess," Greg slowly said, still not sure about what just had happened. Ecklie smiled at him. "You really have, you're not fooling me! Now, go and find her and tell her what I said, okay? And don't forget to invite me to your wedding!"  
Greg heard Ecklie laugh as he left the office. He didn't feel like laughing himself, however. Okay, so Ecklie was alright with him and Morgan dating, but how was he ever going to tell her?

While Greg talked to Hodges and Ecklie, Morgan had taken Miranda outside, where they could talk without being interrupted. After a few moments of gathering all her courage, Morgan finally told Miranda about what she had seen at the restaurant. Miranda looked down at the ground. Carefully, Morgan touched her arm. "Who are they, Miranda? Are they your children?"  
To her relief, Miranda shook her head.  
"Who are they then? You can trust me, Miranda, honestly!" Morgan softly said. "Do you babysit them?"  
"Something like that…" Miranda said with a husky voice. Tears started welling up in her eyes. "They're my little brothers and sisters…"  
The tears started rolling down her face. Still staring at the ground, she continued: "When I was five, my parents got divorced. First, I lived with my mother here in Vegas, but as she had one boyfriend after another, I moved in with my Dad in San Francisco. Everything was fine, we were happy together and I continued to live with him while I went to the university. When I was in my second year, he had to go back to Las Vegas to deal with something with my mother, I don't even know what exactly happened. But they fell in love again and got remarried. Shortly after that, my mother told me she was pregnant again. I was twenty three, I didn't want to have a baby brother or sister! So I just stayed in San Francisco and I was thrilled when I got offered that job in Washington, because it meant I could stay far away from my parents and that new baby sister. It was lonely in Washington, but at least I didn't have a screaming baby in the room next to me…"  
She fell silent for a moment. Morgan looked at the young woman and saw she was breathing in and out heavily.  
"A few weeks ago I got a phone call," Miranda managed to continue. "My parents had been in a car accident just outside of Vegas. The police investigated it as both of them had had too much to drink, but finally ruled it…"  
"As an accident," Morgan finished the sentence. "Sara and Greg worked the case, I remember Greg telling me about it. He said something about the parents having four little kids with them and that it was a miracle they had survived…"  
"Yeah, a miracle…" Miranda repeated, but meaning everything but a miracle. "I don't know anything about babies and yet I still have to take care of four of them all of a sudden! I didn't even know about my youngest brother, my mother hadn't told me anything about him! I was forced to leave Washington, move to Vegas, find a job here and look after my baby brothers and sisters. And I'm doing a lousy job… Hodges hates having me here and my brothers and sisters hate me as well as I'm not their mother. So, it's great being back in Vegas!"  
She smiled, but the tears were still rolling down her face. Morgan put an arm around her and pulled her close. "I'm so sorry, Miranda, I didn't know! But maybe I can help you out…"  
Surprised, Miranda looked up.  
"I know you didn't want me to say anything, but my Dad is still going to talk to Hodges about the way he's treating you," Morgan confessed. "You can't keep working here like this and you know that! And about your brothers and sisters… I don't know anything about children myself, but I know someone who knows a thing or two about raising kids… When you talk to her, she'll probably say she has been a horrible mother, but from what I hear from her daughter, she's done a pretty good job. Want me to arrange for you two to meet? Her name is Catherine Willows and she used to work her. She actually works for the FBI now…"  
Miranda managed a small smile. "Some coincidence… But sure, I'd love to meet her. I know I need help, I just… don't like asking for it… But I guess you know all about that, don't you?"  
This time it was Morgan who was surprised.  
"You and Greg?" Miranda reminded her. "Don't tell me you don't need help with that, because I've only been here for three days and I'm already not buying that!"  
"Is it that obvious?" Morgan asked, an unsure look on her face.  
"Yes!" Miranda grinned. Morgan sighed. "Alright, alright… Yeah, I need help! But I don't see what anyone can do…"  
Miranda grinned again. "Leave that to me!"

After a few more moments, Morgan walked Miranda back to the Trace lab. Hodges immediately stopped the young woman. "Miranda, I'm sorry about everything I said and about the way I've been acting. I'm really, really sorry! Do you think… we can start over?"  
"We can try," Miranda decided with a small nod. "I won't be able to forget your words just yet, but I'm sure in time I'll get over them."  
"I really am so sorry!" Hodges sighed. "I'm normally not that rude to anyone, just ask Morgan!"  
He pointed to the blond woman, who quickly shrugged her shoulders. "What do I know? I've only been her for a year and a half!"  
Then she smiled.  
"He's alright," she told Miranda. "And he's really nice once you get to know him, trust me!"  
"I trust you," Miranda immediately said with a smile. "I'll try to get to know him… if he wants me to get to know him…"  
"As long as I get to know you," Hodges responded, smiling as well. Morgan nodded with a satisfied look on her face. "Great! Alright, back to business! Hodges, did you already process the evidence Greg gave you?"  
"I was about to run it," Hodges told her.  
"How about I help out and bring you the results as soon as we have them?" Miranda suggested. Morgan nodded again. "Alright! See you later then!"  
She left the Trace lab. Miranda smiled at Hodges. "I have an idea, I'll explain it while we work, okay? I think you're gonna like it…"  
"Well, let's hear it then!" Hodges said. He handed Miranda a pair of gloves and quietly listened to her idea. When she was done talking, he nodded with a big smile. This was definitely a good idea!

Morgan left the Trace lab and returned to her office, where Greg was making a list of all their suspects. She started helping him by telling him about the alibis that Brass had already checked, so they could narrow down the list. About ten minutes later they were interrupted by Miranda.  
"Results!" she told them with a happy smile. "It's polypropylene, but you can read it for yourselves. Here you go!"  
She handed them a print out. "Good luck solving your case!"  
She quickly left the office. Too quickly, Morgan realized. She turned around to take a look at the paper, which Greg was already reading. When he looked up, his face was bright red. Frowning, Morgan took the paper from him.

_**Results:  
**__After thorough testing we have come to the conclusion that what's going on between CSI's Greg Sanders and Morgan Brody is officially love. They just have to tell each other to solve this case. Research has shown that a kiss will help._

Morgan looked up from the paper, her cheeks slightly red as well.  
"Well, that's… good to know…" she finally said, an unsure look on her face. She knew she had asked Miranda for help, but now that the young woman had actually done something, she wasn't so sure anymore she really wanted her help.  
"So, it was polypropylene, she said?" she tried to change the subject. "Do you know anything about that?"  
"Morgan…"  
She looked up, right into Greg's beautiful brown eyes.  
"Even your Dad knows how you feel," he softly told her. "Or, at least, he thinks he knows… I just hope he's right as he has already given us permission to go out…"  
"What?" Surprised, Morgan shook her head. "I can't believe…"  
"Morgan, please!" Greg knew he sounded like a begging little child, but he couldn't help it. He liked Morgan so much and he just wanted to be sure she liked him as well after having felt unsure about that for a year and a half.  
"I think everyone in Las Vegas knows how much I like you," he softly said. "I just want to know if you feel the same…"  
"Read my lips," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him full of love and passion. He immediately pulled her close, his arms tightly around her. When they broke apart, he softly ran his hand through her hair. "You know, your Dad said we could work together as long as we kept work and our personal life separated. I don't think this is keeping it separated, do you?"  
She smiled at him, her arms still around him. "Probably not, but how about we talk about it a bit more as soon as shift is over? Or… we can talk about something else…"  
Teasingly, she ran her finger down his chest. He grabbed her arm to stop her and smiled at her. "I think that's a good idea…"  
Unwillingly they both took a step back.  
"Right, back to the case," Morgan said, trying to get her beating hart under control. "So, polypropylene? Think we should go back to Trace?"  
"Yeah, we better," Greg nodded. And with a grin he added: "Even if it's only to tell Miranda her research is right!"


End file.
